Infertility treatments can take on many forms. Our doctors work with you to understand your goals and develop a plan to meet them. In some cases, the INVOcell procedure may not be appropriate and other options including intrauterine insemination or traditional IVF may be used.

What is an IUI?Intrauterine insemination is accomplished by placing highly concentrated sperm directly into the uterus to increase the chance of conception. The patient is given medication for 5-14 days to stimulate egg follicle development and is monitored using blood work and ultrasound. Once the follicle and hormone levels have reached optimal numbers, a trigger shot inducing ovulation is taken. Within 12-36 hours of the trigger shot, the insemination will take place. On the day of the insemination fresh or frozen sperm (that has been thawed) will be placed into a thin, flexible catheter and placed into the uterine cavity.

What is INVOcell?The INVOcell procedure starts with mild ovarian stimulation. Which is then followed by an egg retrieval procedure. On the day of the egg retrieval, sperm is collected and placed into the INVOcell device along with the eggs. The device is then placed into the woman’s vagina. Five days later the woman returns to the clinic and the device is removed. A viable embryo(s) is then transferred into the woman’s uterus. Any remaining embryos can be cryopreserved for future use. To see a more comprehensive overview, click here.

What is IVF?IVF is a procedure where eggs are retrieved from a woman and inseminated with sperm from a man in a laboratory to create embryos. The patient is given medication for 8-14 days to stimulate egg follicle development. During this time regular monitoring via blood work and ultrasound is used to measure follicle growth and hormone levels. A trigger shot is used to induce ovulation and within 40 hours the eggs are retrieved. After the retrieval procedure, the eggs are inseminated with sperm using one of two methods. Conventional insemination is when hundreds of thousands of sperm are placed in the same dish as the egg allowing fertilization to occur. In some cases, ICSI, where embryologists inject each egg with an individual sperm is needed. The eggs and sperm are then placed in an incubator. Over a 3-5 day period, our embryologist closely monitors growth and development of the embryos. Dependent upon embryo development, embryos are typically transferred anywhere from three to six days after fertilization. Using a soft, ultra-thin catheter the embryo(s) is transferred into the uterus. Any remaining embryos not transferred can be cryopreserved for future use.